Coming Home Prequel: Bella
by JenRar
Summary: This is the prequel in Bella's POV to Coming Home, a new story co-written & posted under Sarge's Girls. School teacher Bella sends a care package and letter to Army sergeant Edward, who is stationed in Afghanistan. They begin a relationship through letters, phone calls, and video chats. This prequel is only rated T, but the new story is definitely an M.


_**A/N #1: This is the prequel in Bella's POV to a new story that I have co-written with Drotuno. You don't have to read this or the one she has written from EPOV for the new story (which will post Monday) to make sense, but they are a short, fun read, so we encourage you to! We don't own Edward (unfortunately!), Bella, or the other usual cast of characters, but we do own the plot, the story, and a few random people throughout.**_

~oooOOOooo~

Seattle... Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 2:13 P.M.

"Wait, wait, wait," I huffed, shaking my head. "Somebody actually wrote that to one of the guys in their squad?"

I was hanging out at home with Alice and Rose, my two best friends. Jasper and Emmett, their husbands and also friends of mine, were currently serving with the Army in Afghanistan.

Alice nodded, looking disgusted. "Yeah, the bitch actually blamed Sergeant Masen for it all. Like because he joined the military, she had to stay with him and be alone, lonely – and cheat, according to Jasper."

I shook my head again, incredulous. "How does he know she cheated? Did she say that?"

Rose snorted. "As if a spineless bimbo like her would ever admit to that? Hell no. Emmett said Sarge called a mutual friend of theirs, who mentioned something about a professor and _extra credit_..." She stressed the words extra credit, rolling her eyes.

"Geez, that's awful," I muttered, mainly to myself.

Soldiers had it rough enough... Thousands of miles away from their friends and family, in a lot of cases surrounded by desert or jungle and in the middle of a war zone. To get treated like this... Alice was right; there was no better word than bitch. To get treated like this bitch had treated him was terrible.

"It gets better, though," Rose snickered, nodding and grinning when Alice snorted in agreement. "Emmett and Jasper convinced him to send back a whole bunch of pictures of hot women—"

"Jazz said they asked around and got _fifty_ pictures!" Alice interjected, laughing.

"—and sent them to her along with the picture of herself the slut had asked for, telling her he wrote so many different women, he couldn't remember which was hers, so to pick her photo out and send the rest back," Rose concluded smugly. "That was all on Emmett and Jasper. Emm said he thought of the pictures and Jasper came up with the idea about what to write."

"God, that's just evil... Genius, but evil," I admitted.

"Isn't it just?" Alice grinned. "I almost feel sorry for the girl."

Shaking my head, I refrained from saying anything. I knew from stories Charlie, my father, had told me, as well as stuff I'd heard from Emmett and Jasper, just how hard a soldier's day to day life could be, outside of the actual fighting. In my opinion, the bitch was getting everything she deserved...and she was lucky it wasn't worse.

"I feel so bad for the guy," I said after a minute. "I wonder..." I pulled my lower lip between my teeth in thought.

"You wonder...?" Alice asked after I'd been quiet for a bit.

"Do you know anything about him?"

"He likes to read," Rose answered first. "Emmett said he's always borrowing books from everyone."

Alice looked at Rose and nodded before turning back to me. "I know he likes music. I sent a set of headphones for his iPod once when his cord frayed. Jasper noticed them in the trash and knew whose they were, so he asked me to get a new pair for him."

"Why?" Rose raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Shrugging, I said, "I was thinking about sending him a care package. I know Charlie used to love getting them, and I know your guys always appreciate the ones from you. I just feel so bad for him and want him to know he isn't alone...that someone is thinking about him and thanking him for his service – unlike some people."

My girls smiled and nodded.

"That's a great idea, Bells," Alice said. "I'll email you the address when I get home."

"Ooh, are you gonna send cookies?" Rose grinned. "If so, you'd better send enough for the boys. It's been a while since they got some themselves."

"Yeah, I'll send cookies," I laughed. "But I can't promise they'll get some. How about I make enough for you guys to include the next time you send stuff yourselves?"

They both agreed, and with that, we settled in to watch the movie we'd picked out.

~oooOOOooo~

Sunday, I woke up and decided I was going to bake and go shopping so I could send off the care package to Sgt. Masen Monday morning.

I knew I couldn't send chocolate chip cookies because they would just melt everywhere. After a quick check, I realized I had all the ingredients for my cinnamon sugar shortbread, which were not only delicious, but they would travel well, too.

Just over an hour later, the kitchen was clean and I was pulling the hot cookie sheet from the oven. I knew I should wait until they were cool – in fact, I knew I shouldn't steal any at all – but they smelled and looked so yummy, I couldn't help but immediately take two, almost juggling them in my hands because they were so hot. They were melt-in-my-mouth delicious.

I let them cool while I went to get dressed to go shopping.

~oooOOOooo~

Walmart was always a madhouse, and Sunday afternoon was no exception. Winding around all the people was kind of a pain, but I was having fun tossing things into the cart that I thought Sgt. Masen would be able to use. I had done some research online, and using that and my knowledge from helping box up care packages for soldiers in general, I had an idea of what I wanted to include. Deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen, mouthwash, baby wipes...as well as other normal hygiene products.

I made a stop in Electronics and grabbed a few movies. I thought about stopping by the books but decided to go to the bookstore after Walmart instead. They would have a much bigger selection and give me more room to manuever.

All of that plus the cookies would make a decent care package, I figured, especially from a stranger. I would write a letter and include it with the box, telling him if he wanted something specific, to let me know. I hoped it would let him know that even though he didn't know me, I supported him and his guys and was rooting for them while they were over there.

If it made him smile and gave him a little bit of hope, all the better.

~oooOOOooo~

**_A/N #2: I hope you enjoyed! If you did, please leave a review & let me know._**

**_Then go check out Drotuno's prequel here: www. fanfiction u/1966130/drotuno (take out the spaces) and leave her some love, as well._**

**_Our new story, which follows these prequels, will post Monday, June 4. Coming Home will be posted under our joint penname, Sarge's Girls. You can put us on author alert to get the notice when we start posting here: www. fanfiction u/4021263/Sarges_Girls (take out the spaces). In that, I wrote all of Bella's chapters, while Deb wrote all of Edward's. You'll get more info tomorrow, but know that this is a truly fun story to read...and we both had a blast writing it. :)  
_**

**_Here's the summary: School teacher Bella sends a care package and letter to Army sergeant Edward, who is stationed in Afghanistan. They begin a relationship through letters, phone calls, and video chats. There's love, there's language, and there's adult situations, plus a strong, independent Bella and the Edward we all know and love._**


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